


If I told you the reasons why (would you take my hand tonight?)

by lavi0123



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: (or like 8/10 of the guests in each season XD), Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, One of my Inktober 2019 prompts, POV Second Person, and there’s a mention of blood but idk if that counts as graphic, no beta we die like men, plus this au wouldn’t leave my brain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28325709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavi0123/pseuds/lavi0123
Summary: Matt takes Ro on a ferris wheel ride...but something’s different about himA Bad Ending scenario where everyone else died, and Matt made a deal with the Carnival Master to save Ro at the cost of his soul
Relationships: The Detective | Matthew Patrick & The Jet Setter | Rosanna Pansino
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	If I told you the reasons why (would you take my hand tonight?)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Inktober 2019 Prompts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21248795) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 



> For clarification, this is a chapter from a now-orphaned writing collection of mine (the “inspired by” work)! I didn’t really like most of the prompts I wrote, but I did like this one, so I figured I’d repost it (also to leave this AU open-ended and clarify that it’s mine in case I want to expand on it XD)
> 
> (The copy-pasting is mostly because this functions more as a re-upload than an “inspired by” work)
> 
> The title is taken from “Ride” by Cary Brothers

He slides his hand into yours, smiling at you as gently as he used to. His hands are cold, but it’s a cold night for summer in general, and you just want to run away, far away from all of this.

“Let’s go on a ride,” he says, leading you through the carnival. It’s still and quieter than when you arrived, and you wonder if everyone’s sleeping or dead.

“How’d you do it?” You ask instead, as he straps you two in. The wheel is magic enough that it’ll run until your feet touch the floor.

He shrugs, only answering when you two lift off. “I said that if I had a chance to come back, so should you.”

“What about the others?”

He grips your hand tightly, and you wince. “I only got to choose one, Ro. I swear, I thought long and hard about it. I would’ve brought back everyone if I could.”

“Why me, Matt? Why not Joey, or Safiya?”

“You’re my _sister_ ,” he snaps, and his voice breaks just enough for you to feel guilty. “Who else could I possibly–?”

“I’m not worth whatever he’s asking for, Matt.” It’s a gamble, and a risky one, but you know that defensive tone. You heard it used after Safiya died, and it scares you now as it did then. It’s the tone of someone who thinks that their ends justify their means.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Your heart’s beating so fast that you think you might explode. “You’re lying.”

“What makes you think–?”

“I’m not stupid. I know you made some kind of deal with that Carnival Master and promised him something, there’s no other way f–ow!” You flinch as his nails prick your skin–just enough to startle you, but not enough to draw blood.

“Keep quiet,” he warns.

“Why? Why did you do it, Matt?” Your eyes brim with tears, and you think it would’ve hurt less if he’d slapped you.

“I promised I’d keep you safe. That’s my only concern.”

“And what about you? What will Steph think when her husband comes back with _blood_ on his–”

“Don’t worry about me, Ro. I’ve already died. The living world has no–”

“Stop that! You came back, and you’re just as alive as–!”

“No,” he objects sharply, “I’m not. Maybe I would be, if we’d won, but as it stands...the moment I leave this town, the life force given by Lazarus will fail, and I’ll die. The only place for me to live is here.”

Your eyes widen. “You...you’re going to stay here? In this crumbling town?”

“That was the plan, until you died.” He looks at you, and you search for accusation in his eyes but find none.

“What makes you think I won’t die when I leave?”

“Because the life force in you is your own, returned freely through an unbreakable deal. Not like my case, where I was gifted someone else’s life force on a conditional basis. It’ll be as though you never died at all.”

You scoff. “As long as you do his dirty work and keep him happy.”

“Shockingly, no.” He smiles, but it’s edged by something you can’t quite define. “I managed to promise him something much more valuable. The life force of Lazarus and my soul, intertwined.”

The weight of his words sinks in, and you tremble. “Y-you can’t! I won’t let you do that!”

He tightens the restraints on you and taps the ground to stop the wheel. “Sorry, Ro. You don’t have a choice.”

“Wh–? No!” You fight the restraints, reach for his hand, but he squeezes your hand once and then yanks himself free.

“Trust me.” His calm, gentle smile never changes as the Carnival Master approaches. “When all this is over...you won’t even remember this conversation.”

If your screams disturb him, he doesn’t show it. You selfishly wish he would.

**Author's Note:**

> I love platonic RoPat so much <3 especially in ETN with the angst potential!
> 
> So, to clarify the AU:  
> -Everyone else is dead, including Nikita and Joey, but Matt survived. The Carnival Master is still alive here, too (since it took all three of them to defeat him in canon)
> 
> -Since Matt's life force is technically from Lazarus, and it was stolen/tricked into use rather than won, it still belongs to Lazarus and so is tethered to the last place he willingly put it (his Box, in Everlock)
> 
> -The reason why he's allowed to leave Everlock in canon is because he, Joey, and Nikita defeated the Carnival Master, and Lazarus granted him control of his life force. But in this AU, that didn't happen, so the life force is still Lazarus's
> 
> -Matt made a deal with the Carnival Master to save Ro, and offered up his soul as penance (which is kept alive through Lazarus's life force, so it's a 2-for-1 special for the Carnival Master. And it's allowed, since the life force won't leave Everlock)
> 
> -Ro's life force is entirely her own and returned willingly. No trickery or deceit involved there. So it's hers to control just as it was before her death


End file.
